A Shade's touch
by starfaln
Summary: Somehow, feeling like his won something today, the little boy went back inside the house with a smile still on his face. However it disappeared instantly when a high annoying voice screamed at him as he went to his cupboard. A small wet trail shadowing his path.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own J.K. Rowling's work.

* * *

 **Prologue:**

He couldn't keep his eyes opened. But he had to or he wouldn't be able to finish pulling the weeds out of the garden. « It has to be perfect, you hear me Boy, perfect! »

He liked working outside, when it was warm, with the sun kissing his shoulders. He could daydream as much as he wanted. His favorite was about him and his parents: a cool dad who would always play with him and the nicest mom that would bake the creamiest desserts on earth. They had a dog, very big grey dog. And a cat that liked to cuddle. And a horse for everyone. But he liked the small serpent best because he could talk to it like a friend. They lived in a big house, like a castle. And the best part was when he went to bed, both his parents would kiss his forehead goodnight.

However today, the weather was not on his side, the wind was like ice on his skin, the rain showering him to the bone. That he certainly did not like. He had to be quick for he couldn't enjoy his time alone outside today. He wanted to go back to his room fast. But he kept going. He kept focusing on the weeds, on the dirt behind his nails, the dirt turning into mud and making his arms heavier until the last thing he knew was how earth, the good old smell of earth was cushioning his head and then all he saw was darkness.

/

He didn't understand what he smelt, he couldn't describe it but it reminded him of old books. Like when he hided in the old section of the library, surrounded by very ancient books. They had to be old; they were kept together with tape! And no one would search him there; it was the boring part of the library. However there was something more, something spicy or electric in the air… So he opened his eyes.

He couldn't see much also, nothing detailed but there was somebody with him, just right next to him, slowly pushing his wet bangs out of his eyes. He did not know why be he did not feel scared, or not even a little jumpy. Which actually made him suspicious, he did not like people touching him.

Squinting his eyes, he tried to guess who the person was but he could not place it. The shade was tall and svelte. He did not know anyone like that, maybe his aunt but she wouldn't, all but for all the money in the world, touch him like he was precious to her. For that was what he felt with the shade. Surprising him. Precious.

/

« BOOOUUUUMMMM »

The small dark haired boy jumped on his feet. His heart thumped, his breathing increased, his eyes looked right and left. Feeling disoriented, he looked at the dark grey sky, or at least tried too, the rain was really distracting when it continually plucked his glasses.

« BOOOUUUUMMMM »

Damn, there was thunder now too! He couldn't believe his luck. He still had, at least, fifteen minutes of work left and he was already completely drenched. Silently fuming in his head, the boy crunched down and, determined to finish early, went back to work.

« I hate thunder… »

Ten minutes later he was finally finished, a little sigh escaped his lips and a small smile curled his lips upwards. It had been a very, very long day. Making breakfast, cleaning-up afterwards, dusting the house, doing the laundry, mowing the lawn and at last pulling out the weeds out of the flower garden. Somehow, feeling like his won something today, the little boy went back inside the house with a smile still on his face. However it disappeared instantly when a high annoying voice screamed at him as he went to his cupboard. A small wet trail shadowing his path.

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To be continued ?

Thank you for you attention :D


	2. A Fearful symmetry

Disclaimer: I do not own J.K. Rowling's work.

Warning: Mention of child abuse.

Harry was "home-schooled" and never went to primary school with his cousin.

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

Vernon was not happy.

He was a very important manager at his firm. He had lots of people under him, watching his every move, his every choice. He had tough decisions to make. He had to keep the clients under his thumb, doing small talks, inviting them to very expensive dinner. Not that he was going to pay for it, that was the firm's problem. Not his. But he was good at it, people looked up to him for. He rejoiced in it.

At home, he was the king. Sure he had to listen to his wife and keep his sweet Dudley happy. But that was easy. His family was perfect. His wife was a brilliant cook. She knew how to keep the house proper and clean. Petunia knew how to handle the neighbours, Dudley's school, the shopping. She was the housewife of choice, completely normal too. Though he couldn't say the same about her sister's family. Bunch of freaks. Not at all like his family. His son, Dudley, he couldn't have asked a better son. He was tall and strong for his age, taking after him actually. It made him so proud. He was a leader too in his little group. He could see it and encourage it. Dudley had to be prepared for the future, when he too, will become an important manager at his firm. Maybe he will make President of Sells. That would be the dream. Then Dudley could pay for their family groupings, little vacations and more importantly his parents' retirement. But Dudley was still young, his childhood just beginning to be interesting. So you see, perfect family, perfect house, perfect job.

But Vernon was not happy.

His boss had meeting with one of his best clients. It is an old client that knew how to use the firm to his benefit. Unfortunately, one of these advantages was babysitting. The client had a daughter, 7 years old, just like his son. And for some ungodly reasons, he had to take care of this harpy for the afternoon. Oh, he had already seen the girl before when she was younger. She was the definition of a daddy's girl in his opinion. A spoiled brat that followed after her daddy's legs like a little duckling. She sure knew how to cry her way into her daddy's pocket.

But there was something worse; a secret that he kept from his colleagues since the very beginning 6 years ago. He blamed his wife for this a little but no one can choose his or her blood relatives. But HE did not choose that freak. HE did not want to speak to it, look at it or even think about it. This abnormal monster. Hiding in his completely normal house. And now the little girl could ruin it all. If she discovered the truth…. It would be his end.

And that made Vernon not happy at all.

...

Dudley was annoyed.

His daddy brought a girl to the house. A girl! And worst of all, he had to play with her all afternoon! He had wanted to go to the theatre with his gang and buy candies with the money he got for being obedient this week but he couldn't because of a whiny little girl. And daddy did not want his friends to come because she was the daughter of an important client at his job and he had to pay attention to her. His daddy said that it was the first thing he needed to learn for when he was a grown-up; How to make someone happy even if it made you unhappy. He did not understand it. Why do something he did not like for someone he did not even know? But mommy and daddy promised that he could get his own computer if he behaved correctly this afternoon, so he agreed. But he had to follow one other rule, to never mention that they lived with his cousin. Never ever. He agreed to that one too though it made him sad. He had thought about played Harry hunting with the girl… Everyone liked Harry hunting.

So Dudley was annoyed.

So he watched the little girl at the door of his house. He did not understand why adults thought that girls were cute. They are annoying, they cry for nothing and they wear pink. This one was a few inches shorter than him with curly brown hair and blue eyes. She had some few freckles on her nose; he did not like it. She wore a pink dress under a red coat and black shiny shoes. Very girly clothes with flowers on her dress too. She did not seem to be interesting, he bet that in 5 minutes, she would ask him for dolls. He did not like girls. At the moment she was looking straight at him with a perplexed expression. Well that was normal, he knew he was handsome. Mommy told him that every day.

But everyone had to understand; he was still annoyed by all this but he wanted his computer, so he smiled to the annoying girl and said:

" Hi, my name is Dudley, what's yours? " He had is right hand extended in order to shake hers, like his daddy told him to do, but she did not move, nor did she speak. She continued to stare right at him, her mouth opened in a little o. Mommy was in the kitchen making juices and cookies while daddy was in the living room putting her stuff on a chair, so he was alone with her. She must be stupid he thought, retarded. But that did not surprise him because every girl was stupid! Maybe she was just more stupid than most.

" Hello " he continued, waving his hand in front of her face. She blinked a little, moving her eyes top to bottom. And finally, she replied:

" 'lo, I'm Sophie. " She paused, crunching her nose a little before saying, " You know, your hands are dirty. And you have something on your cheek that looks like chocolate. Did you just finish eating? "

" Yes, I just ate my second dessert, chocolate ice-cream, my favourite. Do you want some? " He replied while smiling proudly.

" Your second dessert? Oh I understand now. Dad explained it to me that eating too much is bad for your body. So no thank you. "

Her daddy must be an idiot too. Because his daddy said that in order to grow big and strong, you had to eat a lot. It explained why the girl was so skinny, not as much as his cousin because no one could be as weak and little as his cousin. He did not deserved to be strong his daddy told him.

" Well, I'm going to watch some TV, do you want to watch it with me? " he said while moving towards the living room, not even waiting for her answer. She followed him a second later, hoping that her dad would pick her up soon.

...

Harry was to be invisible today, silent. Uncle Vernon explained it to him quite forcefully, with one hand grabbing his hair and shoving his head back. " One noise from you and I'll make sure that your punishment stays with you forever ", he was told while spit came flying into his face; his uncle other hand taking a large part of his shoulder, squeezing it until he could feel his bones protesting. " An important client's daughter is coming over for the afternoon " was the only explanation he got before he was shoved into his cupboard after serving lunch. So now, little Harry was lying on his side on his thin mattress, his knees bended and his hands under his head. He was watching the wall with vacant eyes, tracing over and over again the shadow of his door.

The boy did not move for all afternoon. He ignored the numbness that began to spread in his legs. He ignored his shivering as a light breeze rustled his hair when the front door opened. He kept on listening to his cousin's discussion with the girl, his heart freezing a little more with each word that came out of his cousin's mouth; words that lingered in his mind, that danced in front of his eyes, that mocked him with their thoughtlessness.

" Fine I'll tell you a secret. I know a freak, a real true one. "

" Daddy says that it is patsethic… no pathetic! "

" No, it's not a dog… but… you're right. Maybe it is! "

" It's my toy but it likes it because it always comes back to me. "

" Sell it to the circus, freaks go there to entertain right? And I could buy a new game with the money! "

" Daddy said we could sell it but it still has chores to do here. So maybe later. "

Harry did not want to hear more but he couldn't help but concentrate on his cousin's words, the children's laughing at his life. His life. And they never stopped laughing, laughing at him. Why? Because they thought that he was a freak, a dog, a toy. He finally understood. He was not a boy to his family. He was their slave…

He could smell the cookies that the children were eating, just out of the oven. His stomach's growled. It has been three days since he last ate. He was being punished because he did not finish his chores on time. He could hear them slurping their milk. His tongue was dry. Last night was the last time he drank, when he stole some water while cleaning the dishes. He bet they could shower every night. He smelled like wastewater from when he had to clean the evacuation of the washing machine. He was not a boy. He was a slave. And it was with this last thought on his mind that Harry felt asleep.

/

Harry kept his eyes closed. Why should he open them, he was a slave and slaves only lived when their master called for them. So Harry remained curled on the ground, eyes closed. He did not feel sad or angry. He was a freak and freaks are slaves. He did not know any other freaks but he knew that he was not like his family, normal. He was different from his cousin, or the little girl, or his cousin's friends so he must be a freak. And a freak was a slave, right? Normal people do not have hair that grew in one night. They can't make objects float. They can't turn people's hair blue. They can't just appear on the roof. So he was a freak, abnormal.

Breathing in and breathing out, eyes closed, Harry did not move from his spot. He was alone here, he did not know where he was but he was alone and that was the only thing that mattered, until something touched his side.

His eyes flew opened. He sat down not even a second later, trying to see what touched him but he was surrounded by darkness. Total darkness. His heart skipped a few bits. He held his hand up, just a few inches from his face and he still couldn't see it. So maybe he was not alone, maybe he was. Maybe he only imagined the thing. Feeling paranoid, he tried to calm himself by taking deep breaths. Just wanting to make sure, he sprayed his arms in front of him to try feeling something. He stood up and consciously moved his right leg around him. Nothing. He walked slowly a few steps, his arms in front of him instinctively. Still nothing.

He sat back down, his legs crossed, waiting patiently. He was patient. He learned the hard way to be patient. Breathing in, breathing out… After, maybe ten minutes, the feeling came again more strongly. But surprisingly, he was not afraid. He could distinctly feel arms surrounding his shoulders, crossing over his chest and pulling him into someone's body. And he still was not afraid. He guessed that he was sitting one a man's lap but it was just a guess. He never sat a person's lap in his life before. It also must be a man, the body felt strong under his. And obviously, it did not feel like a woman's chest. His hands were touching clothed-covered knees, his feet where touching the man's legs while the stranger's arms delicately circled his chest…

There it was again. This feeling. Precious.

Harry sighed and buried himself deeper in the hug as the familiar smell overpowered his senses, making him feel drowsy. He never felt safer than at this exact moment. He couldn't really see anything but as time passed, the same shade as his other dream came to view. Tall and svelte. But now, he also knew that the shade was a man. A man that was making him fell precious. Harshly, His cousin's words came back to him. " Freak ", " toy ", he was a slave. He did not deserve such good treatment. Harry began to struggle, when out of the blue, the shade began to chant. The voice was deep and soothing, washing over him like the warmest of blankets. Cocooning him against his family's hate. He never wanted it to end. In his childish voice, Harry began to follow the lyrics before finally falling into deeper dreams, his last words being:

" Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? "

/

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This is not the End... maybe ;)

Question 1 : from where does the last line comes from? I'll give you a hint... not from me!


End file.
